TEPCO needs $10.05 billion to dismantle nuclear reactors in Fukushima

Naomi Hirose, the president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said that the utility company is seeking a budget of $10.05 billion (¥1 trillion) to complete the dismantling of the damaged reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Nikkei says. This is in response to the order of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to scrap the remaining nuclear reactors.

As the national government is aggressively getting involved in dealing with the post-Fukushima meltdown issues, TEPCO seems to have not shied away from revealing its needed funds. However, Hirose told the Japanese prime minister that the company will secure the budget without resorting to public funds. He added that TEPCO will cut costs and capital spending to avoid unnecessary use of the national budget.

Given the issues swarming TEPCO, it is unlikely that it will not seek financial assistance from the central government, in one way or another, especially as the order was given by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe himself. That would mean ¥100 billion a year under three administrations, current one included. It is also expected that a part of the requested budget will be allotted for the still unresolved Fukushima cleanup. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Finance has already requested at least $470 million (¥47 billion) budget for the next fiscal year, which would be used as funds for the cleanup at the crippled nuclear plant. As mandated by the prime minister, TEPCO will now also dismantle units 5 and 6 of the defunct nuclear plant.

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YGF

Abe is a Big Oil stooge and an idiot to try to scrap perfectly good reactors and replace them with deadly imported, economy destroying LNG imports. Why – the real reason? Because Big Oil wants it that way. Do you know that LNG has 100X the deaths per twh generated of nuclear energy. Big Oil’s bought-and-paid for media doesn’t want you to know that.

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